I have Comcast cable, and don't really feel like paying $100 a month just to get HD channels. So, I went to Wal-Mart and got the Phillips HD antenna. I plugged it in and, I didn't notice a difference when I switched between cable and over the air on my HDTV. The quality looks exactly the same. But, then I wondered something. How can it transmit an HD signal over RF or coaxial cables? I mean, all the inputs that there are are RF in and RF out. Would component or HDMI work much better? Do other HD antennaes have HDMI or component input/output? Thanks!
2007-09-01 06:00:57 · 3 answers · asked by Kevin S 2 in Consumer Electronics ➔ Other - Electronics
It is an Olevia LT37HVS. It's native res is 720p(1366 x 768) and all the channels that I get are 480i. It has some kind of input called DTV, and it says that it is trying to scan for channels. There are two RF inputs, one that is labeled ANT which I assume is for Antennaes, and one that is labled DTV which I don't know what goes there. There is a switch on the Philips HD antenna that goes from sattelite to cable, and when I have it on cable, from my main menu on the actual TV on the TV input, I can switch between Cable and Air. That's the comparison that I am doing it with. I tried switching to the DTV input, and it says scan for channels. I looked up a site and it said that I had to have an antenna hooked up for it to work. So, I plugged in the HD antenna into both the ANT and DTV RF inputs, and scanned for channels. Both times I didn't get any channels. So, I always have the antenna set to cable, never to antenna. How do I make this work? What is the DTV input for?
2007-09-01 09:03:34 · update #1
An RF cable of Tri or Quad standard is capable of carrying a true HD signal. Just because the RF format of socket has been around for a long time doesn't mean it can't handle a higher signal.
HDMI is a nice neat way to hook up new systems, as it carries the audio and video in one plug, but it is no more capable of carrying the signal for HD than a simple RF plug and lead.
2007-09-01 06:12:16 · answer #1 · answered by martinowens5173 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You are looking at the antenna signal I assume you have a HD tuner that is where the signal becomes HD and you would need an HDMI connector. You don't mention the quality of your TV either it is possilbe the comcast quality is the best your Tv can do so HD will not look any better? What do you have the TV set at and what can it show? 720P 1080i 420? 1080P
Do all you comcast channels look great or just the digital ones.
Usually the ones below 100 are analog and look the worst as they are the ones that don't require a cable box to be seen.
2007-09-01 13:45:29 · answer #2 · answered by komondor4 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
HDMI and component video can only be used for short range connections. They are both "unmodulated", I guess you could call them "pure" signals.
To send the programing over long distances, both OTA (antenna) and convectional cable systems use the "pure" video signal to modulate a higher frequency RF (Radio Frequency) signal that can be transmitted over the air or through a copper wire over long distances.
When your TV tuner/cable box receives this RF signal, the tuner recovers the original "pure" video and sends it to display screen.
2007-09-01 13:57:21 · answer #3 · answered by Stephen P 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋